Somewhere
by SupernaturalSlayer
Summary: Dean's deal came for collection and he was sentenced to Hell. But one day four months later he shows up on Bobby's doorstep with no memory of his time in Hell, except for a mysterious blonde girl who haunts his dreams.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Sam and Dean and the Supernatural verse are all owned by Eric Kripke and co, and the Buffyverse is owned by Joss Whedon and co. The title of this story is taken from the song "Somewhere" by Within Temptation, which I also do not claim ownership to. Also, I named Sam and Dean after the bassist of Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler.

Summary: Four months after Dean's time came and was sent to hell, Dean turns up on Bobby's doorstep with no recollection of his time in hell except for the memory of a blonde girl who haunts his dreams.

* * *

Sam inconspicuously glanced across at Dean in the passenger seat of the Impala. It was hard for him not to. Dean had died four months ago, only to somehow just wind up on Bobby's front step last week. Dean had somehow come back from Hell, but nobody thus far had come up with any explanations. Not even Dean himself, who remembered nothing of the experience. That alone worried Sam. All Dean had told him was that he had awoken in a bed alone in a cheap motel room in some nowhere town, with no idea how he got there. It was very strange, and made Sam uncomfortable.

But he was just happy to have his big brother back. Happy didn't cover it. Sam had been alone for four months, hunting monsters alone, without his big brother watching over his shoulder keeping him safe and sane. It had been hard, and there had been times where Sam had felt like it was too much and he couldn't go on. But now Dean was back and seemed eager to just get back in the swing of things, to where they had been before he had made his deal. But Sam had to find out how this had all happened. Dean didn't remember escaping from Hell, so something had to have happened.

Dean had had no trouble getting into Bobby's house and had downed a shot of holy water with no negative outcomes, so it seemed that he had come back the same old Dean. But Sam didn't believe it for a second. He knew Dean was freaked about not remembering anything, but he wouldn't talk about it. For all they knew, something bad could have happened to Dean in Hell, and it had been so traumatizing that he repressed the memory. All he knew was Dean would regularly, night after night, have these strange dreams that he never seemed to remember. It was worrying.

Dean sighed inwardly. He knew Sam was watching him again. It had been like this all week. Sam would try and pry as much information from Dean as he could about what he remembered, which at first was absolutely nothing, and he would stare at him as unobtrusively as possible when he thought Dean was unaware. Which of course, he was.

His time in Hell wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about. Even if he could remember it. He just wanted to get things back to normal, but Sam seemed totally unable or unwilling to let it go. Sam was constantly asking about Dean's dreams, not unlike Dean had after Jessica's death, as if they held some kind of magical clue that would offer them all the answers. Dean honestly didn't remember much of the dreams either. The main details escaped him when the sun rose, but now and then he could pick out little bits and pieces from the dreams.

There was always a girl. Sometimes there was pain and blood, and sometimes there was just deafening silence. But, from what he remembered, the girl was always there. She was beautiful. Long silken blonde hair, and kind sparkling green eyes. She wasn't a demon. No, she had stayed with him for a time, how long he did not know, but she was there and she kept him safe. He didn't know if what he dreamt was true, he didn't remember the girl outside of his dreams, but he really hoped she was real.

He had spent every private moment, which was rare, over the last week to reflect and sort his memories. And every time he dreamt or remembered something new he would add it to the other pieces of the puzzle. He remembered facing Lilith, and being attacked by the hell hounds. But after that, everything went black, and the memories came sporadically. He remembered meat hooks and pain and screaming. He remembered fear and hopelessness. And then there had been her. He didn't know who she was. He didn't even know her name. But secretly he promised himself…he would find out.

* * *

Sam dropped his bags on the motel bed with a tired sigh, while Dean was more cautious and looked around the room as if staring long enough would tell him what he needed to know. Something was oddly familiar about this room and it put him on edge. He realized distractedly that Sam was saying something, but there was just something about this room…then it hit him. This was the room. The exact same room where he had awoken exactly a week ago, after four months in the grave. The stains on the wall, the carpet worn from overuse in the exact same places…and the mysterious red stain next to the bed that had been there when he woke up. It had to be a coincidence. But what if it wasn't?

"Sam…?"

Sam stopped his rambling and looked at Dean, noticing the concerned expression on his face, "Dean? What is it? What's wrong?"

Dean frowned, choosing to ignore Sam's annoying new habit of babying him, "This room…" He gestured around the room, not quite sure how to explain it.

Sam was confused, not like that was anything new for him over the last few days… "What about it?"

"This is the room…This is the same room where I woke up."

Sam's forehead wrinkled in confusion and concern, looking around the room in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Sam, just trust me on this, okay? I remember this room!"

Sam held up his hands placatingly, "Okay, Dean. Okay…I believe you. It's just that…For us to check into the exact same room you woke up in? That's a huge coincidence."

Dean shook his head, exasperated. He knew that. He personally found it very weird that they were in the same room. But there was an up side, "I know it is, Sam. But look…at least now we can look around the room for clues."

Sam nodded, that was true, "And talk to the manager again. You did talk to the manager before right?...You didn't??"

He hadn't. Dean had woken up very confused and disoriented. Starting an investigation wasn't exactly at the top of his priorities. First and foremost he wanted to find Sam. That was the only thing he had cared about. He hadn't thought to speak to the manager. Well, now was their chance, "No…It hadn't really crossed my mind, Sam. I died! My first thought was to find you! Not go asking people how I got in my room in the first place. With no ID and no…" Dean frowned, "…cash."

Sam frowned also, picking up on Dean's train of thought. Dean had been dead for four months. And buried. Where had Dean gotten the money to get to Bobby's? Something was off about the whole situation, "Dean? How did you get to Bobby's?" He couldn't believe he hadn't asked himself this question before.

"I found money in my pants pocket."

Sam frowned. There had been nothing in Dean's pockets when he had been buried, "Are you sure?"

Dean gave Sam a look, "Yes, Sam! I'm sure!"

"That means…that someone must have left you money after you were buried." A horrible thought crossed his mind. And by the incredulous expression on Dean's face, he could tell Dean had come to the same conclusion.

"Wait…Are you saying that someone went to my grave, dug up my body, brought me to a motel room and left me here with a pocket full of cash to get home??" Dean shook his head, unable to believe it, "Why would someone go to all that trouble, Sam? And even if they would do something like that, it doesn't explain how I'm alive and not rotting in the ground!"

Sam was lost. He couldn't think of a single explanation. The whole thing made no sense to him. Why would someone go to all the trouble to bring Dean back, then leave him in a motel room with money? They needed to speak to the manager. Now. He gave Dean a look of concern, "Let's go talk to the manager."

* * *

"Who did you say you were again?"

"Sam Butler, and this is my brother Dean."

"Right." The middle-aged overweight motel manager just looked at them expectantly, his lack of patience clear.

Sam cleared his throat, "Like I said…we're looking for a relative of ours who passed through here exactly a week ago. He stayed in the same room that we're in now."

"Which is?"

"7b"

"Right. Sorry boys, but I'm really not s'posed to release that kind of information." The manager gave them a tight insincere smile and moved away from the counter to go back to his greasy meal of sloppy joes sitting on the desk, looking like they had been sitting there for quite some time. Sam was pretty sure sloppy joes weren't supposed to smell that bad. He wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"Oh, come on, man! This guy's our cousin. We were supposed to meet him here days ago, but my brain trust of a brother here got us lost and we missed him. We just need to know if he was here in that room or not." Dean gave the beefy man his most innocent, wide-eyed smile, imploring the guy to buy it.

The manager just stared at Dean for a moment and sighed, "You guys aren't gonna leave me in peace until I answer your question, are you?"

"No," Sam and Dean answered in stereo.

The manager sighed again, before dropping the sloppy joe back in its Styrofoam container and wiping his greasy hands on his already moderately stained jeans. He picked up the check-in book, flipping back to last week's date, after a moment he looked up at them, "Nope. No guy in that room. Just a girl."

Dean's eyes widened at that. A girl? Could it possibly have been the same girl he'd been dreaming about? No way. It was all just a coincidence, right? They didn't know enough.

Sam didn't notice Dean's inner monologue, only smiled at the manager, "Oh, yeah. Our cousin did mention that he might have been bringing his half-sister along. Do you have her name? Do you remember her?"

The manager nodded, "Sure, I remember her. Came in the middle of the night. Checked in alone. Didn't say much. Seemed pretty nervous about something. Came and went pretty quickly. Pretty girl, though. Long blonde hair, bright green eyes…"

Dean stopped breathing. Long blonde hair? Green eyes? So far it perfectly fit the description of the girl from his dreams. This had to mean something. Dean closed his eyes and tried to recall something, anything from his dreams. Something that could help, "This girl…did she have an unusual, yet cute, nose?"

Sam just gave Dean a funny look, but the manager nodded affirmatively, "Yeah, she did. That your girl?"

Dean nodded quickly, trying to hide his anxiety from the manager, but more importantly, Sam, "Yeah, that's her. Did you get her name?"

The manager shook his head 'no', "She did mention some weird name, though. Didn't catch it. Didn't sound real. C-something." After a moment the manager frowned at Dean suspiciously, "She in some kind of trouble?"

Dean just gave the manager a fake winning smile, "No. No, it's not important. Thanks."

Sam just stared at Dean's retreating back as he left the office, completely confused at the final exchange. Did Dean know something he wasn't sharing? Probably, knowing Dean. Sam thanked the manager and followed his brother back to the room, resolving to get to the bottom of this and find out whatever it was that Dean wasn't sharing.

Something strange was definitely going on. And he was going to get to the bottom of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Dean quickly left the office and headed straight for the motel room, needing some space to think. The motel manager's description perfectly fit the girl from his dreams. He didn't know what it meant. Were his dreams repressed memories? Or were they something more, like Sam's dreams? He doubted the last one. Or maybe he just badly wanted to believe that she was real. She had been a source of strength for him, seeminly untouched by the pain and chaos around her. She was his and his alone. He supposed that was why he hadn't told Sam about her. He wanted to keep her to himself. But if it was the same girl, how was it that she had been the one to check into the room where he had woken up? Had she been the one to bring him back? How was that possible? Who was she?

"Dean!"

Dean glanced behind him, never breaking stride, to see Sam hurrying after him, trying to catch up, his long legs easily making up the distance, the damn weed, "What is it, Sam?"

"You're not telling me something, Dean. I mean, I knew you weren't telling me everything…but, who is this girl? Do you know her? Who is she?"

Dean sighed in annoyance. Typical Sammy, always asking questions, always had to know everything, "It's not important."

"Not important?! Dean! This girl was the one who checked into the room you woke up in last week! She could be the one who brought you back, who has answers! She could even be a demon for all we know!" Dean said nothing, "Dean, please. I'm trying to help you here. And you've been keeping secrets since day one. I am not going to drop this."

"Okay. Okay…" Dean raised a hand to calm Sam down, "Calm down. I'll tell you." Dean sighed, "I've been having these dreams. Memories, I guess."

Sam furrowed his brow in confusion, "You said you didn't remember anything."

Dean gave Sam a look, annoyed at being interrupted, "I didn't. But when I'm asleep I get these…flashes. Kinda like in those movies when someone has amnesia and remembers something."

Sam is silent for a moment, trying to digest what Dean had just told him, "What do you dream about?"

"Oh, they're just flashes. I don't really remember." Dean decided not to tell Sam about what he remembered. He didn't want to upset him, "But, uh…there was this girl. She only showed up a couple of times but she was there and she was important."

"Was she a demon?"

Dean gave Sam a look as if that was the craziest idea in the world, "No! She was human."

"Who is she?"

"I don't know!" Dean stared at the ground and frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. The whole situation was too much. He wanted to remember. At least he thought he did, but he couldn't. All he knew was that there was a girl, she was important, and he wanted to find her. "I don't know who she is. I just want to find her, Sam."

Sam was silent for a moment, trying to understand how his brother was feeling. He wanted to be there for Dean, and he was trying. But Dean wasn't giving them enough to go on, and wasn't sharing everything. There had to be more to this girl. How did the same girl from Dean's dreams of Hell turn up at the exact same motel, in the exact same room? Something was definitely going on. After sorting his thoughts, Sam slowly nodded, "We will, Dean. We'll find her. But…are you sure she's not a creature of some kind?"

Dean made a noise of annoyance and stormed off, leaving Sam standing in the parking lot, "Dean! I'm only trying to make sure! DEAN!!"

SLAM.

* * *

There had to be some clue here somewhere. This girl had checked in here a week ago, and motels weren't exactly well-known for their high cleanliness standards. So Dean knelt down and slowly and methodically checked out the room for any clues, any signs that could offer him information about his mystery girl. So far, no luck.

"Hello…" he caught sight of a small sprinkling of powder on the floor. It was a beige color. Definitely not salt, or dust. He would have to get Sam to look at it, see if he had any ideas. As soon as he let him back in the room anyways. He deposited the small amount of powder on a piece of motel paper and folded it up for later. Sam couldn't say he never gave him anything.

He went back to his investigation of the room but, besides the powder, found nothing else out of the ordinary. He looked out the window. It was getting dark…He should probably let Sam back in the room now.

* * *

"So you're saying you found this stuff on the floor? In here?"

Dean just gave Sam a look, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Sam sighed, "I'm just trying to make sure." Sam picked up a small pinch of the powder and rubbed it between his fingers, analyzing it. "You know…I'm not positive, but…this stuff looks like Angelica root. Crushed Angelica root." He looked over at Dean who had a blank expression on his face, "Angelica root is used in hoodoo to ward off evil or for protection. The fact that you found this here shows that someone who used this room had some knowledge of protection spells…"

"And that said someone needed protection from something."

"Exactly."

* * *

Sam and Dean climbed out of the Impala, slamming the doors behind them with an audible creak, after having returned from the nearest diner. They'd asked around if anyone meeting their mystery girl's description had been around, but unfortunately, so many pretty blonde girls pass through town that they had no way of telling if it had been her. Once again they were stuck at square one.

"Hey, dude!" Dean turned around to face the stranger who had just yelled after him, "You okay now?"

Dean frowned, confused, "What do you mean, am I okay now?"

"I've been here in town for over a week now, on vacation. Last week some chick was dragging you into your motel room, said you'd had too much to drink. You didn't look too good."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. Sam frowned at the man, stepping closer to him, "This girl…what did she look like?"

The man gave him a weird look, but thought for a moment, "Uh let's see…blonde, hot, kinda short…"

Dean gave Sam a look, before looking back at the guy, "Thanks." He grabbed Sam's arm and marched off back to the motel room, leaving the man staring after them, shaking his head. Dean quickly pulled Sam along to their room, slamming and locking the door behind them, "What the hell is going on here, Sam?"

Sam sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, "I don't know. Let's just think about this. What do we know so far?"

Dean sighed and sat down on the bed, "Well, we know I died. Then suddenly, a week ago I wake up in this motel room with memories of a girl. Turns out the girl was registered here in this motel room at the same time I was here, we find a powerful protection herb ground into the carpet, and now some tourist describes the same girl dragging me into the motel room. Probably when I was still dead."

Sam was silent for a moment, thinking over the facts. He frowned as something occurred to him, "You know, Dean…Something's been bugging me about this whole thing. I don't know, but…the whole thing is kind of…messy."

Dean had been thinking the same thing. For someone who knew a thing or two about Hell, resurrection and protection spells, she didn't do a very good job of covering her tracks, "Well you know what that means, little brother."

"What?"

"It means we stand a better chance of finding her."


End file.
